Women's Volleyball

Bears Swept to Close Brown Invitational

Providence, RI -
The return home from two weekends on the road did not go according to plan for the Brown volleyball team (1-8) on Saturday, as the Bears dropped matches to Central Connecticut State (12-3), 3-2, and Portland (7-6), 3-0. Despite several stretches of strong play throughout the day, Bruno could not get over the hump to pick up a win, perhaps most evidenced in that the team dropped two games by two points.

Bruno hung tough in the first match of the day, trading games with the Blue Devils by scores of 31-29, 18-30, 30-17, 26-30, and 15-12. However, the home team could not get much going in the nightcap, dropping the games 30-15, 30-28, and 30-25.

The opener was a battle from the start, as the teams traded points until CCSU opened a 14-8 lead thanks to a 9-1 run, partially aided by two points thanks to Brown being out of rotation. That lead increased to 24-14 when the Bears mounted a rally, going on a 14-3 run to take a 28-27 lead. However, the Blue Devils won four of the next five points, getting the 31-29 win.

The teams traded dominant wins, as Brown rolled in the second game only to lose the third just as easily. The Bears rallied in the fourth game to force a fifth, but after Central Connecticut got out to a 5-2 lead, the teams traded points the rest of the game, with CCSU extending its lead slightly to get the victory.

The Portland match started poorly for the Bears, as they spotted their opponents a 5-0 lead that soon grew to a 15-4 deficit. The Pilots continued to extend that lead to jump out to a 1-0 advantage. The second game was the turning point, as Brown faced a deficit most of the frame only to make a late comeback, winning five points to go up 27-26. Again, the Bears could not close the game out, as Portland took four of the next five points to win.

Freshman middle blocker Danielle Vaughan (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) was named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing the weekend with team highs in hitting percentage at .345 (25 kills, 5 errors, 58 attempts), and 1.25 blocks per game (7 solo, 8 assists, 15 total). She had five blocks, two solo, against CCSU, while hitting .520 on 13 kills with no errors in 25 attempts. She had six kills and two blocks against Portland.

Setter Natalie Meyers (Seal Beach, CA) had a solid weekend, especially shining against CCSU, when she finished with 61 assists in the five games. She also had 18 digs in that contest. For the weekend, she averaged 11.25 assists per game and 2.75 digs per game.

Sophomore outside hitter Kiana Alzate (Del Mar, CA) and freshman right-side hitter Brianna Williamson (Cincinnati, OH) both provided sparks off the bench for Brown on Saturday. Alzate played in four of the five games against CCSU, then started all three against Portland. She had 11 kills and 15 digs against the Blue Devils with a .280 hitting percentage, then followed that with nine kills, a team-high 19 digs, and a .194 hitting percentage against the Pilots. For the weekend, she averaged 2.62 kills and 4.25 digs per game with a .224 hitting percentage in eight games.

Williamson played two games in each match on Saturday for a total of five on the weekend. She had four kills against CCSU, but three came during the Brown rally in the second game. Williamson then matched Alzate's team high with nine kills against Portland, notching a .261 hitting percentage. For the weekend, she averaged 3.40 kills per game with a .227 hitting percentage.

The Bears play their final non-conference game on Wednesday, when they travel to URI to play the Rams for the unofficial state championship. They will then open Ivy play on Saturday at Yale.